Strongsville students stage protest, get attention from internet hacker group

STRONGSVILLE -- Students replaced teachers on the picket line Tuesday night for a "silent protest" against the teachers strike, and what they call censorship by school administrators.

More than 20 students from Strongsville High School held signs declaring, "We will not be silenced," and "We want teachers, not babysitters," in front of school district headquarters on Pearl Road. Some had duct tape over their mouths.

The protest was triggered by the morning school announcement Tuesday. Students say a school administrator instructed students to stop posting messages and photos of inside the school, on social media.

"We just want them to know that we have voices, and we're going to use them, " said senior Jordan Kelley.

Students say conditions inside the Strongsville High are no better, as the teacher strike enters day 3.

"We don't have enough subs, complete chaos in the hallways," said senior Kelly Fraser. "People just stopped going to school, and when they do, they don't listen to the substitute teachers."

One student reached out to the internet hacker group, known as Anonymous -- the same group that claimed responsibility for cyber attacks on the Pentagon, News Corp, and threatened Facebook. Anonymous has also been known to intensely fight internet censorship.

The group tweeted to close to a million of its followers worldwide, urging students to fight for their freedom of speech.